No decision on PM's trip to Islamabad

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">NEW DELHI: Concerned at the perception that it was de-escalating tensions with Pakistan too quickly, the government on Thursday scrambled to stem speculation that a final decision had been taken on the Prime Minister attending the January 2003 Saarc summit in Islamabad.<br />On Thursday, a TV channel quoted minister of state for external affairs Digvijay Singh as saying Prime Minister Vajpayee would definitely travel to Islamabad for the summit although "not for any bilateral process".<br />Coming in the wake of the decision to withdraw troops from the border, Singh''s comment seemed to suggest a further softening of the Indian stand, a suggestion the government is keen on avoiding.<br />Pakistan''s announcement that it too would withdraw its troops from the border added to the speculation that a calibrated strategy of phased de-escalation has begun.<br />Moving quickly to correct this impression, the government clarified that there was a "large gap between possibility and reality".Since the ministry of external affairs could not contradict Singh''s remarks on the Saarc summit, it reinterpreted them, focussing on the conditions attached to such an event.<br />The Prime Minister, MEA officials said, would travel to Islamabad only if the summit was held, which in turn would depend on there being a "purpose" to it. And since the dates for the summit were still to be finalised, it made no sense to speak of a Vajpayee visit to Pakistan at this stage.<br />While Yashwant Sinha said on Thursday afternoon that the PM would travel to Islamabad "if" there was a summit, the MEA spokesperson said. "The dates of the summit are not yet finalised. Once the dates are finalised we will consider it".<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Our Comment</span><br />It would be easy to stand on formality, and rebuff General Musharraf''s long-standing offer of a dialogue. But New Delhi has already made the first move by pulling back troops from the border. An informal one-to-one on the margins might be a good way of building on this momentum.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Related stories:</span> <br /><img src="/images/ticker.gif"> <a href="/articleshow.cms?art_id=25516761">Troop pullback will cost the govt crores</a><br /><img src="/images/ticker.gif"> <a href="/articleshow.cms?art_id=25466130">Pakistan to pull back forces from border</a><br /><img src="/images/ticker.gif"> <a href="/articleshow.cms?art_id=25516106">Troop withdrawal attracts mixed response</a><br /><img src="/images/redbull.gif"> <a href="/articleshow.cms?art_id=25490223">TOI edit: Warless Games</a> </img></img></img></img></div> </div>